NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Contrary to some reports, the
anti-epilepsy drug oxcarbazepine does not appear to prevent
migraine headaches, new research suggests.

Anti-epilepsy drugs have been used for the prevention of
migraine, Dr. Stephen Silberstein of the Jefferson Headache
Center in Philadelphia, and associates note in the journal
Neurology -- and reports have suggested that oxcarbazepine
would be effective as well.

In a study lasting almost five months, the investigators
randomly assigned 170 men and women with a history of migraine
to a daily dose of oxcarbazepine or inactive placebo. Both
groups included people who had three to nine migraine attacks
within a month.

Results showed no difference between the oxcarbazepine and
placebo groups in the change in the number of migraine attacks
from the beginning to the end of the study.

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Similarly, the severity of migraine attacks and the amount
of acute rescue medication required was not affected by
treatment allocation.

"The results of this trial do not support preliminary data
which had suggested oxcarbazepine was effective in preventing
migraine," Silberstein noted in a written statement. "While
several epilepsy drugs have been used for decades to prevent
migraine, oxcarbazepine did not prevent migraine in this study
despite it being shown to be safe and well-tolerated."

Silberstein also noted that the three epilepsy drugs that
most effectively prevent migraine -- topiramate, divalproex and
gabapentin -- have several mechanisms by which they treat
migraine, including the ability to regulate a brain chemical
known as GABA. In contrast, oxcarbazepine has no apparent
activity on GABA. Silberstein says it's possible that epilepsy
drugs must be able to regulate brain chemical in order to
prevent migraine.